A climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro before the storied snows turn to dust and make this African nation of 88 million all-but-unimpressed.
Mt. Kilimanjaro, the world’s highest mountain, is the destination of choice for those seeking a once in a lifetime opportunity to explore this otherworldly natural wonder. The peak, at 3,895m, is the most famous in the African continent, home to some of the largest glaciers in the world. Its icy summit, the highest point to which man has ever climbed, is adorned with white-roofed caves and spires.
But, more than just a mountain, Kilimanjaro is a magnet for those seeking a taste of the ultimate adventure.
“It is, in fact … the ultimate adventure,” explains Patrick Egan, a British businessman and mountaineering guide from Bristol who, with his father, had planned to go on Kilimanjaro once before the snow made it impossible. “It’s the ultimate adventure and, at the same time, you don’t get bored.”
The dream of Egan, who now lives in Spain, is to climb Kilimanjaro with his 15-year-old son, Tim. The family made the trip to Africa in early July, with two days in Kilimanjaro and five days in Rwanda. It was the culmination of four years of planning. The Egan family had first travelled to Africa in 2001, on a trip organized by the British government’s department of overseas development.
A few years later, Egan had returned to the continent in 2006, with his American wife, Lauren, who worked for a U.S. firm, and their three children, all under the age of eight. They’d travelled to Morocco, Botswana, Mauritius and Tanzania before returning to the United Kingdom in 2010.
Egan’s family had visited Mount Kilimanjaro before, in the 1990s. Egan recalls their experience well:
“When I was growing up, whenever I asked my dad what he’d do if he were to pass his death sentence, he’d respond that he would climb Kilimanjaro.”
But as far
